Different Dimension Network
by ClearWingSynchroDragon
Summary: Sara Taylor is the younger sister of a famous duelist who disappeared. She heads towards Maiami City in search of answers and glory. Can she rise to the top and rescue her brother? It's time for her to put her dueling skills to the test. A retelling of the ARC-V story line. Starts from Episode 13 and will eventually drift towards AU. OC Main Character
1. The Beginning

Different Dimension Network

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V. I am not making any revenue from this story.

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Sara watched the duel between LDS Academy's Akaba Reiji and You Show School's Sakaki Yuya, the boy rumored to be capable of a new summoning method. She caught her breath as Reiji backed Sakaki Yuya into a corner with his monsters. She was impressed; it seemed the rumors about Akaba Reiji were true. He was clearly an accomplished duelist, especially with a deck that had access to multiple methods of summoning.

"Using the scales of my Pendulum Monsters, I call forth my monsters! Pendulum Summon!" Yuya shouted out.

 _Looks like I made it in time to witness the new summoning technique!_ Sara watched in awe as Yuya special summoned three monsters all at once, including his ace, Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. Through a combination of his monster effects and Action Cards, Yuya managed to power up his dragon and wipe out Reiji's field of monsters.

"You're really something else! I'm glad my opponent was you!" Yuya said with a smile.

"The same to you. You've allowed me to see the nature of Pendulum Summoning," Reiji replied, pushing his glasses up. "Now it's your turn. I'll have you confirm whether or not Pendulum Summoning is unique to you with your own eyes! My turn! Draw!"

What happened next shocked everyone watching the duel.

"Using the Scale 1 D/D Philosopher of Prophecy, Galilei, and the Scale 10 D/D Philosopher of Prophecy Kepler, I set the Pendulum Scale! I can now summon monsters from Level 2 to 9. Grand power which shakes my spirit! Arise within me and give birth to a new light that rends the darkness! Pendulum Summon! Come before me, my monsters!" With that, Reiji summoned three D/D/D CEO Hell Armageddons. Using their powerful 3000 ATK stat, he destroyed Yuya's monsters in battle. Yuya snapped out of his stupor to grab an Action Card and activate it, saving him from an immediate loss. However, with only 350 Life Points left, he would lose on his next turn if he couldn't make a comeback. "I end my turn."

Yuya continued to stare in shock at Reiji's Pendulum Cards. He stood frozen in the middle of the battle arena.

"Yuya! The match isn't over yet!" A voice announced over the speaker system. "Keep burning and burning! Be hot-blooded!"

"That's right! This duel has been really fun so far! Don't give up!" Sara yelled from the sidelines, finally drawing attention to herself.

"Who is she?" Hiiragi Yuzu asked Shiunin Sora, a short blue haired boy who had latched onto Yuya recently.

"No clue," he shrugged, focused on the duel instead.

"Pendulum was something given only to me – No! Don't think about it," Yuya said out loud, mostly to himself. "I've got to win this match!" Yuya drew his card.

"It came! Let's do this again! Timegazer, Stargazer! Sway, Pendulum of the Soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Come, my monsters! Pendulum Summon!"

"What? He only had one card in his hand! How did he summon three monsters?" Sara gasped. This new summoning method seemed more powerful than she thought initially.

"Pendulum Monsters don't go to the Graveyard when they're destroyed," Yuzu responded, taking an interest in the new girl. She was very pretty. Her hair was black with her long bang framing the left side of her face colored green and it was held up in a ponytail. She was wearing a black tank top with a pleated blue skirt. She wore black stockings marked and brown loafers. The new girl also had on a maroon hoodie with six zippers on the front and one on the back. "They go face-up in the Extra Deck instead."

"They go to the Extra Deck? Thanks for letting me know! I'm Sara." She extended a hand out to Yuzu, appraising the girl and her outfit. She was certainly cute with her school sleeveless blouse and pink skirt and her adorable two tone pink hair.

"Hiiragi Yuzu! Nice to meet you too," she greeted back. After their introduction, they both turned their attention back on the duel. Yuya destroyed one of the Hell Armageddons in battle. He tried to activate Entermate Firemufflion's effect to attack again with his dragon but Reiji stopped him in his tracks by raising his monster's attack to 6000 until the end of the turn. Unable to surmount that much ATK, Yuya ended his turn.

Reiji began his turn but something wrong happened with his cards. The Pendulum Scales besides him began to flicker and shimmer before his remaining two monsters destroyed themselves.

"I have seen the possibilities of Pendulum Summoning," Reiji announced. "That is enough for me. I forfeit this duel." With that, Reiji walked off the dueling arena. He gave Yuya his name before leaving You Show School with his subordinates.

"That was pretty incredible. To think that he could use Pendulums..." Sora noted. Just then, Yuya walked out of the arena into the spectator room.

"Yuya-oniichan!" The kids yelled as they sprinted towards him. Two young boys, one with wavy blue hair and another chubbier one with green hair, and a little girl around the age of 8 with spiky red hair held back by a headband. "What's wrong?" they asked as Yuya slumped to the floor. Yuzu, Sora, and another boy also ran over. Sara closely followed.

"How could he also Pendulum...Pendulum Summoning should be...unique to me!" Yuya muttered, although everyone could hear him.

"Well...at least it's good for us!" A tall man with spiky orange hair dressed in an obscenely garish red and orange jumpsuit walked out of the operating booth for the Solid Vision Projector.

"Good for us?" Yuzu asked.

"Yeah. LDS left. We managed to protect our school thanks to everyone's efforts." _\_

 _Protect their school? Seems there was something big on the line here,_ Sara thought as she watched quietly.

"Even if you say 'everyone,' the only one who actually won was Yuya," Sora pointed out loud tactlessly. Yuzu and Gongenzaka, the boy dressed in white with a strong face, glared at him momentarily.

"You didn't even fight for us! How can you complain?" The blue haired child exclaimed, pointing at Sora.

"Yeah! You weakling! You Show School doesn't want people like you!" The chubby boy backed his friend up.

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry, my bad!" Sora apologized, although he didn't sound the least bit apologetic.'

"Where are you going, Sora?" the man, Hiiragi Shuzo, asked. The blue haired boy didn't reply as he walked out of the room. "And you guys! You shouldn't say things like that!" He scolded the children.

"What's the big deal? We don't need weaklings anyway!" The chubby boy continued to argue.

"If LDS attacks us again, I'll protect us next time!" The blue haired boy vowed.

"Me too!" The red haired girl agreed.

"So train us again, Yuya-oniichan! With your Pendulum Summoning!"

"Pendulum Summoning isn't just mine!" Yuya snapped. He brushed past the child and made to head for the door but Sara stood in his way. "Move out of my way!"

"What will you gain from running away?" Sara asked him, folding her arms across her chest.

"What?"

"Pendulum Summoning isn't unique to you anymore. Are you that surprised?" Sara watched the emotions cross Yuya's face. "Did you honestly think no one else would ever find a way to Pendulum Summon? Did you think you were destined for greatness or something like that?" All eyes in the room were on her. "I can't say I know much about Pendulum Monsters. A few days ago, I didn't even know they existed. I can understand the shock of having something exclusively yours be torn away but that doesn't mean you just give up!"

"So what do I do then!? I would have lost that duel if it wasn't for that malfunction! I lost! I almost lost us You Show School!"

"Think things through! Now that we've seen Pendulum Monsters in the hands of someone like Akaba Reiji, there's a high probability that some day, the world will be overflowing with Pendulum Cards."

"What does she mean by that?" Yuzu asked.

"Akaba Reiji is the head of Leo Corporation. They're at the top of their field in terms of new dueling technology," Shuzo informed her.

"Exactly," Sara continued. "I bet those monsters Akaba Reiji used were cards his company developed and that they malfunctioned because they haven't perfected them yet. But you saw that they did work, for a while at least. Once they get them right, Pendulum Summoning will be unleashed on the world."

"So now more people will know how to Pendulum Summon? That's just great!" Yuya moaned, slumping down to his knees again.

"As you are now, you're not even worthy of your cards. You're pathetic! Duel me right now, Sakaki Yuya! Let's see if I can beat that attitude of yours into shape!"

"Hey, what are you even saying, Sara?" Yuzu interrupted but her father, Shuzo, placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I think it's a good idea," Shuzo said. "Yuya needs to break out of this mindset before he deteriorates as a duelist."

"I agree. Whoever this person is, she's challenging him seriously. You can tell by looking into her eyes," Gongenzaka added.

"I'll prepare the dueling field for you, miss..."

"Sara. And thank you, mister!"

"I still haven't agreed to anything!" Yuya cried out as Gongenzaka dragged him into the dueling arena.

"Trust me, Yuya. This is for your own good," his friend whispered before walking back into the spectator room.

"Are you ready? Activating Field Magic: Magical Broadway!" Shuzo announced over the speakers. The field sprang to life as the Solid Vision Projector created a sparkling city of glamour and lights in the night. Sara smiled at Yuya from across the street.

"This is! Dad's favorite field!" Yuya stuttered.

"That's right, Yuya! This is the field your father held as his forte!"

"You have a connection to this card? Good! Maybe it'll remind you of what a real duelist is again!" Sara declared.

"Are you calling me a fake?" Yuya growled.

"I've watched tapes of your father's duels, Yuya. When I saw him duel, I witnessed his strength and his courage but above all else, I saw his determination. You'll never catch up to him if you keep thinking this way so Sara's gonna kick your butt into gear!" She said cheerfully, equipping the duel disk her brother, Largo, left her.

"Oh yeah? I'll show you!" Yuya activated his duel disk, a low hum emitted from the device when it projected the blade part.

"That's more like it!" Sara also activated her own duel disk, causing a commotion among the spectators. Unlike the standard duel disk with its blade modeled after the Battle City duel disks, her duel disk emitted three separate blades. The first two curved to the left and could hold one monster slot. The last one was the biggest and it curved in the opposite direction, holding three monster zones. The neon trim blazed in a pulsating red.

"What is that? I've never seen a duel disk like that before!" Yuzu said.

"I've never seen one like it either," Gongenzaka confirmed.

"Maybe it's a newer model that just came out?" Shuzo suggested.

"You've got a strange duel disk!" Yuya commented.

"Thanks! It was a gift from my brother. Now let's get this started!" Sara yelled back.

"Duelists locked in battle!" Yuya started the chant.

"Kicking against the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters!"

Together, they finished the chant. "Storming through this field! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling! Action Duel!" At the end, the Action Cards scattered throughout the field.

"I'll take the first move! I discard 1 WATER monster to special summon Swap Frog in attack mode! I activate its special ability that allows me to send one Level 2 or lower Aqua-type WATER monster from my Deck or field to the grave. I send Ronintoadin to the Graveyard! Next, I activate its second effect to return Swap Frog to my hand. I special summon Swap Frog again and this time, I'll send Dupe Frog to the Graveyard. I set one monster on the field and I end my turn."

"She sent a lot of cards to the Graveyard that turn. What is she planning?" Gongenzaka wondered.

"My turn. I draw!" Yuya stared in shock at the card he drew.

"What's with that silly look on your face, Yuya?"

"This card...this card is..."

"This card?"

"I can't use this card anymore..."

"Hey! You better not hold back on me, Yuya! I won't forgive you if you do! Come at me with everything you've got, Pendulums and all!"

"Tch! You want me to not hold back? Fine! Using my Scale 1 Stargazer Magician and my Scale 8 Timegazer Magician, I set the Pendulum Scale! Now I can special summon monsters from Level 2 to 7. Sway, Pendulum of the Soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Come forth, my monsters! Entermate Friendonkey! Entermate Whipviper! Entermate Bowhopper!"

"See? Now this is a duel!"

"Not for long! Whipviper, attack Swap Frog!" The attack reduced Sara's Life Points by 700 to 3300. "Bowhopper, attack her facedown monster!"

"Ha! I'm glad you did that! When Nimble Sunfish is destroyed by battle and sent to the Graveyard, I can send one Fish-type monster from my Deck to the Graveyard and special summon another Nimble Sunfish from my Deck. The card I send to the Graveyard is Fishborg Planter."

"It's still no match for my Friendonkey! Go! Destroy her second sunfish!"

"I activate my sunfish's effect once more. This time I send Nimble Angler to the Graveyard. Angler's effect chains to my monster's effect, special summoning two Nimble Mantas to my field. Now I special summon my third Nimble Sunfish!"

"Wow! She has even more monsters out on Yuya's turn than she did on her own!" The blue haired boy observed, entranced in their duel.

"Don't just focus on the field, Tatsuya."

"Ms. Sakaki!" Yuzu greeted. Then she frowned. "What did you mean by that? What you just said?"

"This girl may be filling up her field with monsters, but she's also piling cards up in her Graveyard. I think you'll see what I mean in a while."

"But, Ms. Sakaki! Even if she has a bunch of monsters, they're all really weak! They have barely any attack power," the chubby greenhaired child said.

"It's true that her monsters are weak individually. But sometimes things are more than they appear to be," Shuzo finished, winking at Sakaki Yoko, Yuya's mother.

"My turn. Draw! I activate the spell card, Salvage! With this card, I can add two WATER monsters with 1500 or less ATK in my Graveyard to my hand. I add Swap Frog and Nimble Angler. Now I discard Angler to special summon Swap Frog and I activate both of their effects! I special summon a third Nimble Manta and I send Poison Draw Frog to the Graveyard. I activate Swap Frog's second effect to return it to my hand and use its effect to normal summon one 'Frog' monster in addition to my regular normal summon this turn. I summon Dupe Frog!"

"She has a full field of monsters!" Gongenzaka stammered.

"What is she planning?" Yuzu wondered.

"You've shown me your strength, Yuya, or at least a part of it. I will return that favor. Using two of my Nimble Mantas, I construct the Overlay Network! XYZ summon! Gachi Gachi Gantetsu!"

"She's an XYZ user!?" everyone spectating yelled in surprise.

"Gachi Gachi Gantetsu grants my monsters 200 ATK and DEF for every XYZ Material it has attached. That's why with my Nimble Sunfish and my third Nimble Manta I'll XYZ summon another Gachi Gachi Gantetsu! Now my monsters will gain 800 ATK and DEF!"

"Ha! Her monsters still aren't strong enough to take down Yuya-oniichan's monsters!" Tatsuya cheered.

"I don't think she's done just yet," Gongenzaka warned.

"I activate the effect of the Fishborg Planter in my Graveyard. Once, while it's in my Graveyard, I can send the top card of my deck to the Graveyard, and if it's a WATER monster, I special summon Fishbog Planter to my field." Her smile grew even wider when the card she milled was Poseidra, the Atlantean Dragoon. "Since Poseidra is WATER, I special summon Fishborg Planter! Now I overlay Dupe Frog and Fishborg Planter! XYZ Summon! Daigusto Phoenix! I detach Dupe Frog from Daigusto Phoenix to activate its ability, allowing it to ATK twice this turn!"

"Three XYZ summons in one turn? This duel is crazy!" Yuzu gasped.

"You've got three XYZ monsters! How did you -" Yuya muttered in shock.

"It's because my Deck answers to me. Do you know what the most important thing in dueling is, Yuya? It's not having the strongest monsters or the best spell cards. It's not about have the most XYZ, Synchro, or Fusion monsters. It's not luck, either. No...the most important thing towards succeeding in Duel Monsters is your will! That's what my brother taught me! To believe in your own power and from there, your cards will answer!"

"To believe in myself? My cards? The answers of my cards?" Yuya repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

"I could summon Poseidra in my Graveyard easily, Yuya. I have everything set up to do so, in fact."

"What does that have to do with anything? Why are you telling me this?" Yuya growled, thinking she was just playing with him.

"Because I want you to see. Even though I _can_ special summon Poseidra to attack your monsters, there's also another path I can take."

"What are you trying to say?"

"That there is more than one way to power! When one door closes, another one opens and if it doesn't, make your own door! There are so many ways to get stronger! You just need the will and determination to follow through. Now, Yuya! I'll show you mine! I banish Dupe Frog from my Graveyard to special summon Ronintoadin. I normal summon Swap Frog and send a second copy of Ronintoadin from my Deck to the Graveyard. With these two monsters, I construct the Overlay Network! XYZ Summon! Cat Shark! I activate its monster effect! I detach 1 XYZ Material to target 1 Rank 4 or lower XYZ Monster I control and double its original ATK and DEF until the end of this turn. The monster I target is Daigusto Phoenix!"

"No way! Now that thing has 3800 ATK points!" Ayu Ayukawa, the red haired girl, said, her eyes glued on the duel.

"I can't believe I just saw someone XYZ summon four times in one turn!" Yuzu replied, staring wide eyed at Sara.

"Battle! Daigusto Phoenix! Attack his Bowhopper! Feather Flurry!"

"Bowhopper!" Yuya screamed as his Life Points were reduced to 1700.

"Oh no! Daigusto Phoenix can attack once more this turn! If Yuya takes this next attack, it's all over!"

"How did you get so strong?" Yuya asked in amazement.

"I'm strong because I push my limits! I'm strong because I believe in my cards! Finish him off! Attack Friendonkey! Feather Flurry!" Sara commanded, putting her fingers right at Yuya. The boy scrambled for an Action Card.

"I activate this Action Card! Evasion! It negates your monster's attack!"

"You're not the only one capable of using Action Cards! I activate the Action Spell Card: Wonder Chance. It allows Daigusto Phoenix to attack once more this turn."

"What? A third attack!?"

"Feather Flurry!"

"ARHHHHHHHHH!" Yuya yelled as he was tossed back, his Life Points reduced to 0. Around them, the city projection sparkled into nothingness as the Projector turned itself off. Yuya rolled onto his back, staring up at nothing in particular as he went through the duel in his head.

"Yuya!" The group yelled as they entered the dueling arena. Sara watched on as they fretted over him, turning off her duel disk. She walked over to Yuya's prone body.

"You said I could become stronger...but I have no idea what to do," Yuya lamented, covering his eyes with his goggles.

"You don't have to come up with an answer right away. These sort of things usually take time. My brother always told me that putting in the effort is better than nothing so I'll tell you the same. Don't give up, Yuya. Pendulum Summoning might not be exclusively yours anymore but you shouldn't be upset that others will now be using your summoning method. Instead, maybe you should aspire to become the best Pendulum user in the world!" Yuya's eyes grew wide as he took in her advice.

"The best Pendulum user? Me?"

"Yeah, why not? Rise up and show the world the brilliance of your entertainment dueling!"

"You...think I can...do that?"

"You're not at your best right now but even so, I felt the emotion you have for your dueling. Don't give up, Yuya! You have pretty eyes; you shouldn't hide them behind those goggles."

"Ehhhhh!?" the group said at that last line.

"Pretty eyes?" Yuya, Yuzu, and Gongenzaka repeated with blushes on their face.

"Sara! W-w-w-what did you mean by that last line?" Yuzu stuttered

"Sara? That name sounds familiar," Yoko said as she watched on amused.

"Now that you mention it..." Shuzo continued. "Wait! It can't be!"

"What is it?" Ayu asked, confused.

"Sara, was it? Can you tell us your full name?"

"Oh! Where are my manners! My name is Sara Taylor! Nice to meet you!" The girl gave off a warm smile.

"Sara Taylor? Starfall Academy's Battle Princess?" Shuzo was shocked.

"Ugh, I hate that nickname!" Sara told them, sticking her tongue out.

"I don't get it. Who is she?" Tatsuya asked.

"I've heard of that name before! She's an elite student from Starfall Academy! She's been placing top in various tournaments recently! The little sister of the man known as 'the Ace,' Largo Taylor!" Gongenzaka shouted.

"What?"

"Really?

"No wonder she's so strong!"

"The Ace had a sister? I had no clue!"

"Are you really the Battle Princess?" Yoko asked.

"Yeah, I am," Sara answered, flipping out her Duel Pass ID. "Please don't call me that, though. It's a dumb nickname my teammates gave me that unfortunately stuck. I'm just Sara Taylor."

"Drolen City isn't exactly close. What are you doing in Maiami City?" Shuzo asked with genuine wonder. Even though he had absolute pride in his school, he knew that this girl was most likely beyond the scope of what his school had to offer.

"I'm participating in the Youth Championship this year. I've never been in Maiami City before and when I heard rumors of a new summoning method through the grapevine, I just had to come and see for myself. I'm really glad I did too."

"It's an honor to have someone like you visit our little school," Shuzo said.

"Yeah. Thank you for helping our with our resident knucklehead," Gongenzaka laughed.

"Gongenzaka!" Yuya groaned in friendly irritation.

"You were incredible in that duel!" Yuzu praised Sara. The kids huddled around her as they looked up in amazement.

"Yeah! The way you summoned all those monsters!" Ayu clamored.

"All those XYZ monsters! I heard those kinds of monsters are tough to handle!" Tatsuya said.

"Your duel left me s-s-shivering!" Futoshi cheered.

"Thanks!" Sara soaked in the praise, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

"As ferocious a duelist as your older brother," Yoko smiled at the girl. Her amusement grew when she saw the girl's eyes light up.

"Oh, no, no, no! My brother is a true genius when it comes to Duel Monsters. He put this deck together when he was just starting out of cards he found thrown out."

"He put that powerful deck together out of cards in the garbage?" Yuya asked, standing up from the floor.

"Well, kinda. This deck has gone through a lot of changes over the years; my brother's heart and will are embedded deeply into it. I always thought it incredible: the way my brother turned a bunch of weak cards into something spectacular. I want to do the same and surpass my brother some day!"

"That's a great dream, Sara. I'll be rooting for you," Yoko cheered.

Suddenly, Sara's duel disk started vibrating Sara pressed a button to answer the video call.

"Hey, Sara. Are you done with your little excursion? Weren't we going out to some seafood restaurant tonight?"

"Yeah, I'm just about done. Wait up for me; I'll be there soon."

"Well, hurry up. I'm starving to death here!"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on my way." She ended the call before turning back to everyone else. "That was my impatient teammate, Emma. She'll be really cranky if I keep her waiting for a long time. It was really nice meeting all of you!" Sara began to walk away.

"Wait!" Yuya yelled out, reaching his arm forward. "Sara! You were right about me. I won't get anywhere by running away so...I'll get stronger and when I do, I want to duel you again and show you my resolve!"

"Yuya?" Yoko and Yuzu both said.

Sara turned around and gave him a dazzling smile. "Are you participating in the Youth Championship?"

"Yeah, I just need to get six wins to qualify."

"I'm sure you'll qualify. Hey, since you showed me part of your deck, I'll let you off with this piece of information. The deck I''m using for the tournament is XYZ oriented and it's full of mostly light and dark monsters."

"Why are you telling us?" Gongenzaka asked.

"I got to see a little bit of Yuya's deck and dueling style without revealing much of my own in return. In addition, since I won't be using this deck in the tournament, Yuya hasn't learned a single card I'll be playing in my tournament deck. I just want to make it fair since you can bet that I'll be thinking of a way around your famed Pendulum cards. See you around, Yuya." With that, the girl left You Show School.

Yoko snickered as her son continued to stare at the door where the girl left. Yuzu raged internally. How dare some girl from another city come in and flirt with Yuya like that? Even if she was a top tier duelist?

"That Sara is going to be a real contender in this tournament, Yuya. You're going to have to train real hard to duel against her."

"She's an amazing duelist," Yuya praised. "She's strong."

"That's right and she's fair. She didn't have to tell us anything about her deck," Shuzo added on.

"Come on, Yuya. You've had quite a day. I'll cheer you up with your favorite dinner," Yoko said. "Thanks for taking care of my son again today, Shuzo."

"Anytime."

Outside of You Show School, as they walked home together under the darkening skies, Yoko nudged Yuya's shoulder with a knowing look on her face. "So what did you think of that Sara girl today?"

"She was super strong! I can't wait to duel her again!" Yuya said cheerfully. It warmed Yoko's heart to see that her son had snapped out of his funk.

"Yes, she was," Yoko agreed.

"I'm going to train hard. I'll give it my all next time!"

"Oh, my little Yuya is growing up! Now you've caught the attention of a pretty young lady." Yoko's smile grew when she saw Yuya blush and wave his hands around.

"I-it's not like that!" Yuya floundered.

Heading in the opposite direction, Sara headed for the hotel where she and her teammate from Starfall Academy, Emma Takahada, were staying. She ran up to her friend when she spotted her waiting in the hotel lobby.

"Took you long enough to get here," Emma grumbled, fidgeting with the latches on her satchel.

"Sorry, Emma, I didn't mean to keep you waiting."

"It's fine, I guess. So what were you up to?"

"I was just investigating that Pendulum Summon thingy we heard about. It's pretty interesting so far and it seems like things are just getting started."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you over dinner."

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading. Have a good one.


	2. First Day of the Championship

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V. I do not make any revenue from this story.

* * *

"You're such a little kid," Emma grumbled, dragging her feet as she trailed after Sara.

"Oh, come on! It's the first time we've been to Maiami City. Let's try and see as much as we can," Sara said, skipping ahead.

"...Right. Who knew our princess was such an explorer?"

For the next few days while the rest of the tournament participants acquired their wins to qualify, Sara and Emma did as much sightseeing as they could.

"You go on ahead. I'll just stay here and wait for you."

"Really, Emma? It won't be that bad, I promise."

"Ahh, but I have a seat down here!"

"You'll have fun up there."

"Uh, I think I'd have the same amount of fun upstairs as I would staring at this dirt stain on the floor."

Sara practically dragged Emma up the stairs into the rock and minerals exhibit.

"Wow, you're right. Look at how much fun we're having...staring at a bunch of rocks."

"If I didn't know better, I think you were doing your best to annoy me."

"Oh, I would never," Emma chuckled. Sara just rolled her eyes. After years of having her as a teammate, she no longer grew angry or frustrated at her friend's contrary attitude.

"What do you want? Why are you looking at me like that?" Emma asked when she noticed Sara glancing at her.

"I seem to recall a certain grumpy friend of mine complaining about the museum and yet, said friend is blinding me with her smile.'

"Oh, shut up. You think I enjoyed that? I'm just glad we're finally getting out of that dump." Sara just shook her head.

"You can't fool me. I know you enjoyed yourself."

"Yeah, yeah."

Together, the two friends walked all over the city, enjoying the cinema, watching a theatre performance, hanging out at two separate arcades, and thanks to Emma's finicky tastes, several high end restaurants.

"Those prices were ridiculous. That's the last time I ever take YOU out for dinner," Sara told Emma when they arrived back at their hotel room.

"Alright, so it was a little expensive," Emma agreed.

"A little expensive? The amount of money we just spent could have fed a family of three for a month!" Sara called out as she stripped down to her underwear and got into her sleepwear, which was basically just a large t-shirt.

"Yeah, but it was really good, wasn't it?" Emma asked over the sound of the television, settling down onto her bed.

 _Hmmm, it was delicious...and it's not like I'm strapped for cash, thanks to my winnings...Still horribly overpriced, though,_ Sara concluded. "I can't say no to that."

"That's right. Think of it as good luck for the championship tomorrow."

"...I don't think that's how it works," Sara muttered, beginning to feel the sleep creeping in on her senses.

The girls awoke bright and early.

"You ready?" Emma asked even though she already knew the answer.

"You bet. Don't lose too early," Sara joked.

"Yeah, right. I don't plan on losing this one. Let's show them what it means to be a Starfall Academy elite!" Emma cheered. Sara smiled as she watched her friend in a rare moment of demonstrated enthusiasm. "I'm going to get a cup of coffe. Wait for you in the lobby, okay?'"

"Kay," Sara replied as her friend walked out of the door. Sara finished getting ready for the day, checking herself out in the large mirror. She wore cargo shorts and a black t-shirt. Her hair was held in a low, braided bun and she swapped out her usual bead dangle earrings for her golden hearts dangle earrings. She slipped the strap of her messenger bag over her head, strapped on her black-bodied duel disk, and turned the lights off before leaving the room. She hummed to herself on the elevator ride down to the lobby. She was looking forward to seeing Yuya again; she wanted to see if he had come up with an answer in the past few days.

"Here. I got you a muffin," Emma said quietly, dumping a paper plate into Sara's hands.

"Thanks," Sara replied, biting into the muffin. Emma smiled back before finishing up her coffee. "That was yummy." She tossed away her paper plate and the two girls walked out of the hotel towards the Maiami City Championship opening ceremony.

"You think the ceremony is going to take long?" Emma asked absentmindedly, more for the sake of distracting herself on their walk there.

"Probably. You know how these things usually are." Sara read through a few texts on her duel disk, a grin breaking out on her face. "Hey, look at this! Everyone's wishing us luck." She showed Emma the texts from their fellow students and teachers.

"Aww, that's cute. We better not disappoint them then, right?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth."

"Geez, they really go all out, huh?" Emma was in awe as she stared at the massive gathering of spectators. Blimps and helicopters zoomed throughout the skies, capturing everything in video as various broadcasters and news channels set up their spots to cover the tournament.

"Of course they would. This is one of the largest tournaments in the world!" Sara had always watched the Maiami City Championships. Even though this would be the first year she personally would participate in it, Starfall Academy had sent other representatives in previous years to battle for the cup. Her own brother, Largo Taylor, had earned his nickname "the Ace" when he single-handedly carried his team through a special portion of the tournament that emphasized on teamwork. Largo and his two other teammates had not been prepared at all for this and their decks were ill equipped to function together, but through will and strategy, Largo managed to fend off those who would drop him from the tournament. Since then, Starfall Academy restructured the curriculum to include things like team battling. Usually grouped up in fours, the students would learn with their group and hopefully come to trust them as much as they trusted their own cards.

"Hey, Emma."

"Hmm?"

"Remember the talk we had half a year ago?"

"Yeah? What about it?" Emma stopped looking around and gave Sara her undivided attention. She wouldn't speak of it at a moment like this unless it was something important.

"Some of the things I've found out pertain to LDS Academy. It seems like a lot of things are happening in Maiami City. Certain people have been disappearing without a trace."

"Disappearing?"

"Yeah. It's being kept real hush-hush, probably by the Leo Corporation so they can host their tournament without any hiccups. At first, I thought it was a series of murders but it doesn't line up. No bodies have been found at all."

"That...is quite frightening."

"Yeah. Additionally, everyone who disappeared was involved in a duel either during or just before their disappearance. Duel disks recovered from those sites hold the records of those duels but are unable to identify the opponent, which means there's someone running around without a Duel Pass ID and making duelists disappear like magic."

"What in the world? How is this even happening? You mean, there's a lunatic out there right now?"

"Shhhhh! Keep it down. I'm sure the ones in charge of this city aren't just twiddling their thumbs and I'd bet that Leo Corporation is already diverting a fair amount of resources towards catching the perp. I suppose it's just a matter of time now. Until he's caught, though, please be careful. Don't trust anyone who duels with XYZ or Fusion monsters."

"Don't trust XYZ or Fusion? What are you talking about? What about you? Aren't you using XYZ monsters this tournament?"

"I meant other people, obviously. If anything happens, call me." With that, Sara walked towards the ceremony entrance where the other tournament participators were waiting. Emma walked behind her after a moment and the two stopped in their designated spot in the middle of the open dome stadium.

"Well, well, well. Two little girlies from Starfall Academy." A large bodied boy with a messy brown-red hairstyle sneered at the two, his diamond stud earrings gleaming in the sunlight.

"Hey, doofus. Don't underestimate them! Starfall Academy's representatives have always been strong," a shorter boy with shiny black hair tinged with gold warned, giving the two girls an apologetic shrug.

"Hah! They look weak! Looks like Starfall Academy is finally scraping the bottom of the barrel."

"You'd know a lot about that, wouldn't you? You look like the weakest duelist here, you oaf!" Emma taunted back, enjoying the look of anger that crossed the bully's face.

"Please excuse Gen's rudeness. It appears he requires a remedial course on how to treat a pair of lovely young ladies." A young man with orange hairs and red bangs wearing a blue vest and tie over a light pink shirt and white cream pants with a yellow pattern walked towards the four of them.

"Ahh! It's Mokota Michio! The Cooking Duel Prince!" Emma squealed. "I love your recipes!"

"Hey, you! Who are you calling rude?" Gen began to argue before the shorter boy dragged him away.

"Thank you, miss."

"Emma! And this is my friend and teammate, Sara." Sara watched on in wonder as Emma freaked out like a fangirl over meeting one of her idols. Michio flashed them one of his famous dazzling smiles. Emma did her best to not swoon.

"Thanks for sticking up for us," Sara said. "It's nice to know you're one of my potential opponents, Michio."

"Ha ha! I could say the same of you! It's not every day you'll meet one of Starfall Academy's famous students."

"Hey, don't look now but there's a group of people headed for us," Emma warned, snapping out of her fangirl mode for a second. "You think that bully brought some backup?"

"Hmm? Oh, hey! It's those guys I told you about. The ones from You Show School."

"You mean the Pendulum user?" Emma asked as Sara waved at the group.

"Sara!" Yuya called out when the two groups met.

"And Mokota Michio! There are some real strong people here, it seems," Gongenzaka noted.

"Mokota Michio? What's he famous for?" Shiunin Sora asked, licking his lollipop.

"You don't know? He's Cuisine Duel School's most famous chef, the one referred to as the Cooking Duel Prince," Gongenzaka clarified.

"Duel Prince? How funny."

"How so?" Yuzu asked, looking at Sora.

"The Cooking Duel Prince talking to Starfall Academy's Battle Princess. It's like they're a royal couple or something," Sora finished, unwrapping another lollipop.

"Royal Couple!?" Everyone in the group sported blushes at Sora's words.

"I-it's not like that at all!" Michio stammered.

"Yeah! It's just coincidence. Coincidence!" Sara reinforced, shooting a half-hearted glare at Sora. The blue haired boy merely shrugged.

"Ha ha ha...It is kind of funny, now that I think about it," Yuya said. "A Dueling Prince and a Battle Princess...a weird fairytale, isn't it?"

"Shut it, Yuya!" Sara commanded.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! Like, how the princess is trapped inside the castle and the prince has to come and rescue her," Yuya continued.

"Hey! If anyone's doing the rescuing, it's going to be me!"

"That's fine, then. You can rescue the trapped prince."

"Hey!" Michio shouted playfully.

"Anyway...if you're done poking fun at me," Sara started. Everyone shared one last laugh before quieting down at the glare she sent them. "It's great to see you all made the cut."

"I told you I would. I promised you I would show you my resolve."

"...Is there something that I'm missing here?" Michio asked as he watched Yuya and Sara interact.

"Sara pulled Yuya out of a funk a few days ago," Gongenzaka explained. "Well...more like she beat him out of it. Either way, she told him he would find his own path to strength."

"Yes, you did. Have you found an answer?" Sara asked.

"...I'm still trying to find ways to further the evolution of my Pendulum Summon...but in the past few duels, I feel like I am advancing."

"That's good! Keep at it."

"Yeah...I will." Yuya scratched the back of his head before continuing. "I never did thank you that day for kicking me into shape. Thank you, Sara."

"Ha ha! You're welcome. I want to see just how strong you get."

Suddenly, the crowd erupted into cheers as Akaba Reiji walked onto his private balcony.

"The crowd's going nuts!" Yuzu yelled over the uproar.

"Yeah. Akaba Reiji is one of the strongest duelists alive today," Emma explained. "He's rarely seen in public, too."

"I wonder how strong he is," Yuya mumbled.

"Hmm...it's hard to say. I've watched a few of his duels but it's difficult to pin down precisely how good he is."

"In the duel with Yuya, he was using an experimental deck so I can't gauge him properly off of that."

"They say that the only other duelist who comes even close to him is your brother, Sara," Gongenzaka added.

"You know, I've heard that a few times myself. Can't we ballpark Akaba Reiji's level by using your brother's skill level as a reference point?" Michio suggested.

"Hmmm...I wish I could. The truth is, I don't know the full extent of my brother's abilities. It's not that he holds back or goes easy on his opponents...but sometimes I get the feeling he's capable of so much more."

"Still, if those rumors are true, then Akaba Reiji must be a monster," Emma pointed out, recalling the various times she had watched the Ace in a duel.

"Yeah, speaking of Akaba Reiji, keep an eye out for those LDS students," Yuzu warned Emma.

"Leo Duel School, huh? Their participants are always high grade material," Michio commented.

"That's true but they're not the only ones to look out for. I saw a few worthy duelists out there during the ceremony procession," Sara pointed out.

"Yes! There's someone among the LDS duelists you guys should watch out for. He's the one dressed in the long purple overcoat." Yuzu pointed discreetly at the tall man with spiky two-tone green hair.

"Who is he? I don't recognize him from anywhere. Maybe an uprising rookie?" Emma asked.

"No. He's somehow involved in the duelist disappearances. I don't know the exact details but he's dangerous."

Sara and Emma glanced knowingly at each other briefly before Sara continued their last train of thought. "Hmm...another person I'd personally look out for is Kachidoki Isao from Ryozanpaku School. He was the runner-up in last year's tournament; no doubt he's on the hunt for blood in this one. I've also heard Ryozanpaku has gotten their hands on some pretty exclusive fusions so I'd be careful around him. It's not just his deck that's aggressive. Isao himself is a savage beast and he'll tear you apart if you let him," Sara told the group.

"Wow, Sara! You've really done your research," Gongenzaka nodded.

"I try to prepare as much as possible."

"What about the LDS duelists? You don't think they'll be tough to beat?" Yuya asked as he remembered his duel against the XYZ user from LDS, Shijima Hokuto.

"I crafted this deck for the purpose of defeating LDS students. I've noticed a trend in how LDS students construct their decks, depending on the courses they take. Besides, none of this years LDS contestants are superstars. They're all good duelists, no doubt about that, but definitely not unbeatable. I'm more worried about those people from that international school, Knights of Duel. I have no idea what to expect from them."

"...You really crafted that deck to fight LDS students?" Yuya briefly wondered if he should have done the same.

"Well...I created it and edited it with some cards that I felt would be more ideal in certain situations. Against someone who doesn't fall into the category of player I built against, my deck will be weaker than it normally would have been. However, against those I plan on dueling against, my deck is stronger. I think the trade-off is worth it."

"So you made your deck stronger against LDS but weaker against everyone else, more or less," Sora summarized. "Doesn't that mean the Battle Princess will be easy pickings?" Sara glared at him again for using her hated nickname.

"Sometimes you have to make sacrifices and just hope it pays off. Besides, I'm sure I could still wipe the floor with you."

"Ha! I'd like to see you try."

"Shhh. It looks like they're starting!"

A portly man dressed in a business suit walked up on the stage in the middle of the dome theater to the podium. "All of you who have gathered here are the elite, having won you way out of many other duelists. We expect you to duel your best while exhibiting fair play!" When the man finished his short speech, another man, tall and gangly with slick black hair dressed in a pompous black and yellow vertically striped suit, took the microphone. He was Nico Smiley, a manager for Pro Duelists. He had aided Yuya by sanctioning official duels for him to qualify for the championship.

"Next, we will be conducting the oath of fair play!"

"Ugh! Not this again," Emma muttered.

"It'll be over soon," Sara laughed. Emma was always like this.

"The players' representative this year is! You Show Duel School's Sakaki Yuya!" Nico Smiley pointed his long finger at Yuya.

"Huh?! Me ?! I'm saying the oath?!"

"Yuya!?"

"Wa-wait a second!" Yuya cried out. "No one told me about this!"

"Sakaki Yuya to the stage please!" Nico Smiley called out.

"Get on up there!" Sara shoved Yuya forward.

"Yuya, if you're a man, get it right in one go," Gongenzaka shouted out as encouragement. Behind him the rest of the group sweatdropped.

"I don't think that has anything to do with it..." Emma whispered to Yuzu. Both girls giggled. Up on stage, Nico Smiley spoke to Yuya for a moment before handing over the microphone.

"Alright then! T-t-the oath of p-pair flay!" Yuya raised his hand to the sky.

"Ah, Yuya, you idiot," Yuzu said to herself.

"What's he so nervous about?" Sara wondered. Before anyone could answer, she yelled out, "Hey, Yuya! Get it together! The whole world is watching! If you freeze up at this, how can you ever be a professional duelist?" In the front, Yuya took in her words and palmed his crystal necklace. He inhaled deeply and threw his arms out wide.

" _ **Ladies and Gentlemen!**_ Pardon me for my earlier mistake. In order to turn that around, this is the oath of fair play...is what I'd like to say, but I would like for you to listen to what I have to say first. My father is the Duelist Sakaki Yuushou! The world's greatest Entertainment Duelist! But three years ago, before his duel began, he went away somewhere...Since then, everyone's called me the child of the runaway Duelist, and I practiced Entertainment Dueling desperately, saying 'I'll prove them wrong!"

Yuya paused as he looked around the stadium. "But at some point...I think I ran away from actually dueling. After discovering my Pendulum Summon and dueling with some strong people, I came to enjoy dueling more than ever. I realized I want to keep dueling. I want to be like my father, the best Pro Duelist! A Duelist who can make everyone enjoy dueling even more!"

The stage burst into a cacophony of clapping. Everyone cheered at the end of Yuya's heartfelt speech about his resolve.

"That was Sakaki Yuya's oath of fair play as well as his declaration of his determination! Excellent!" Nico Smiley spoke when Yuya handed back the microphone.

"Nice job, Yuya." Gongenzaka nodded as Yuya returned to the group.

"That was really sweet, Yuya," Yuzu said with a warm smile.

"Yeah, good one." Sara punched him lightly in the shoulder.

"Thanks, guys!"

"Now then! We will announce the first matches!" Nico Smiley withdrew a plastic card from his shirt pocket and waved it around. "Everyone who qualified for this tournament received a registration card. Please insert it into your duel disk!" He demonstrated with a standard duel disk and placed the card in the spell / trap entrance. "The registration card receives communication from the tournament operator's computers and will guide you to your opponent. It will also update when you qualify for the next round of the tournament, of course."

"That's convenient." Yuya followed Nico Smiley's instructions and inserted his registration card.

"Not really. They couldn't just use a bracket system?" Emma grumbled as she dug out her registration card from her hip pouch.

"You know they always have to make these things more complicated than they need to be. Remember the tournament at Kaiser Academy?" Sara laughed at her friend's look of digust.

"Ugh! Don't remind me," Emma shivered.

"What? Sawatari Shingo?!" Yuya exclaimed when he found out who was to be his first opponent.

"Who'd you get, Sara?" Emma asked as she peeked over her shoulder.

"Yamada Takao. Based on what I saw from last year's performance, he's a decent duelist. This is perfect."

"I thought I recognized that dumb grin. If he combed back that mop on his head, he might be a little cute."

"Hmmmm..." Sara squinted her eyes. "I'm not sure about that one. You want me to give him your number when I beat him?"

"Sure, do what you want."

"Who'd you get?"

"Kimura Keitaro. Some no-name. My match is starting soon."

"Mine is later today."

"Hey, Sara, Emma! We're going to watch their duels. Are you coming?" Yuzu gestured to the younger children in You Show Duel School's group.

"Nah. I have my own match to attend," Emma answered before walking off to find her stadium.

"Yeah, and I'm going to watch. Sorry."

"Oh, it's okay. It's a shame we'll miss her duel. In case we don't see each other before our matches, good luck!"

"Yeah, you too!"

"When does your match start?" Yuya asked.

"In three hours. Stadium B-03. I should really get going. Bye!" Sara took off, racing after her friend as she disappeared into the distance.

"Are you going to watch their duel?" Gongenzaka asked as the participants from You Show School walked over to the Junior section of the championships.

"I want to. Sara is strong...and she helped me get back on my feet. I want to support her when she duels."

"She'll also be pretty interesting to watch, if she's as strong as they claim," Sora said. He tossed a bundle of lollipop sticks away in a trash receptacle. Hiiragi Yuzu remained quiet as they walked towards Futoshi's match against a hotheaded kid from a lesser known dueling school.

"They're nice people," Emma admitted quietly once she was alone with Sara.

"I told you they were. Their school isn't big or anything but they've got heart. I'm rooting for them."

"More like you're rooting for a certain someone.. You know, a certain Pendulum user."

"A girl says a guy has pretty eyes and she never lives it down, huh," Sara shook her head.

"Yeah, I'm not letting that one slip by. Anyway, I'm off."

"Break a leg!"

"Yeah, yeah," came the expected half-enthusiastic, half-indifferent response. Emma walked down into the arena where her opponent eagerly awaited her.

"Alright, now that both contestants are here, we can start this match between Starfall Academy's Emma Takahada and LDS's Kimura Keitaro."

"Are you ready to lose?" Keitaro taunted, hoping to get a rise out of the girl calmly turning on her duel disk.

"Not really."

"Hah! You better prepare 'cuz I'm going to bring down one of Starfall's elite students."

"...Sure. You do that. Can we just get started already?" She looked over at the proctor who nodded his head. "Excellent. Duelists locked in battle."

"Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters! They storm through this field! Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of Dueling! Action Duel!" The cards spread throughout the forest Action Spell Card.

"Girls first!" Keitaro called out.

"That's fine by me. I activate Pot of Duality. I reveal the top three cards of my deck and I select one to add to my hand. I add Cardcar D. I set three cards on the field and then I summon it. I activate my monster's effect." Emma drew two cards and immediately ended her turn.

"It's my turn! Draw! I activate Fire Formation – Tenki and add Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Bear to my hand. I also activate Fire Formation – Tensu which allows me to normal summon 1 additional Beast-Warrior monster each turn. I normal summon Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Gorilla and Bear! Next, I activate Gorilla's effect. I send Tenki to the Graveyard to destroy the facedown card on my right!" The card destroyed was revealed to be Trap Stun. "Attack! Bear attacks you directly!"

"You've walked right into my trap. Mirror force!" Emma revealed the middle facedown card.

"Shoot! I knew I should have hit that one. From my hand, the Quickplay Spell Card, Forbidden Lance! I use it on Bear and although he'll lose 800 ATK, he won't be affected by any other Spell or Trap Cards this turn."

"Chain! Breakthrough Skill! This will negate your Bear's effect for the rest of this turn!"

"Argh! He can still attack you! Go Bear!"

"But you don't get to search a Fire Formation card from your deck," Emma replied as her Life Point counter went down to 3100.

"I set a facedown and end my turn!"

In another stadium, Yuya and his friends supported Yuzu as she fought against the Fusion user from LDS, Koutsu Masumi.

"It's amazing how far Yuzu has come," Gongenzaka declared in slight awe as he watched his friend run around the hallways of the duel arena.

"It's only natural. Yuzu's been training hard since Masumi defeated her last time," Yuya commented, also impressed by the skill she demonstrated. It was way different from the last time they had seen the LDS students; the Yuzu back then hadn't even been able to put up a fight. They eagerly cheered as the duel snapped back and forth between both sides.

"My move. Draw...and it's just what I needed. I summon Nikitama. It's ability allows me to Normal Summon one more Spirit monster this turn so come on out, Aratama! I search out another Nikitama from my Deck to my hand through Aratama's effect. I overlay Aratama and Nikitama! XYZ Summon! Castel, the Skyblaster Musketeer!" A winged beast carrying a musket and clad in armor soared through the sky before pointing its musket at Bear. "I detach two XYZ Materials to target your Bear and shuffle it back into your Deck."

"No way!" Keitaro cried out.

"Attack him directly!" Keitaro's Life Points were reduced by 2000. "I set two cards and end my turn."

"You've gotten lucky so far but I'm not about to give up."

"I'd hope not. The game just started."

"I draw! From my hand, I activate a second Tenki and I search out Coach Soldier Wolfbark which I summon to my field. His effect Special Summons the Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Gorila in my Graveyard in face-up Defense Position but its effects are negated. Now I'll show the power of the XYZ Summons of LDS. Using Wolfbark and Gorilla, I XYZ Summon the Rank 4 monster Brotherhood of the Fire Fist – Tiger King!" A majestic warrior garbed in armor reminiscent of the samurai of legends landed on the field, his presence fierce and commanding. "When he's XYZ Summoned, I get to set one Fire Formation Spell or Trap Card from my Deck to my side of the field. I choose to set Fire Formation – Tensen. Thanks to my spells, Tiger King's attack rises by 200 points! Your Castel can't stand up to him. Go, Tiger King! Fire Burst Strike!" The monster destroyed Castel with a powerful punch.

"Not bad. Since I took damage, I can Special Summon Tragoedia from my hand. It gains 600 ATK for every card I have in my hand. Do you end?" Tragoedia, the swampy demon from hell, stared intently at Keitaro with its sunken yellow eyes.

"Yeah. I'm done for now. Try and beat that! "

"Heh...careful what you wish for. I draw. I summon Nikitama which allows me to Normal Summon Yaksha! I activate Yaksha's effect to return the facedown card that isn't Tensen!" Emma smiled as she noticed the nervous look on Keitaro's face. "I activate Tragoedia's effect. I can target one monster in my Graveyard and change Tragoedia's Level to match that monster's. I choose Aratama so Tragoedia becomes Level 4."

"Three Level 4 monsters? No way!" Keitaro shouted incredulously.

"Using these three monsters, I construct the Overlay Network! Drowned in the darkness of your disease...spread your wings and your influence! Appear now, Evilswarm Ouroboros!" A black dragon with dark blue wings and gold accents roared its aggression towards the sky, its representation a sacrilegious mockery of what it had once been before its corruption.

"Evilswarm Ouroboros? This card looks familiar," Keitaro muttered in amazement as the dragon flapped its wings and produced a mighty gust.

"It should look familiar. This used to be Trishula, Dragon of the Ice Barrier before it fell victim to the lswarm virus. Now, you shall fall victim to the same power. Ouroboros, I activate your ability! Return his Tiger King back!"

"No! My Tiger King!" Keitaro had his field wide open.

"Attack! Pandemic Laser!"

With no way of stopping the attack, Keitaro had to admit defeat as his Life Points were wiped out.

"And the winner is decided! The one to progress to the next stage is Emma Takahada from Starfall Academy!"

Emma walked over to her opponent and extended her hand. Keitaro eyed her for a moment and accepted the handshake with a graceful smile. "Looks like I need to work on my dueling more. Good game."

"Good game to you too. May I ask why you didn't use any Action Cards?"

"Ha ha...I thought I could beat you without them. I didn't think you would be that good of a duelist. May I ask why you didn't either?"

"...I didn't use them because you didn't. At the start of the duel, I picked up an Action Card. It was No Action. Since you can't pick up more than one Action Card at once, and you never used an Action Card for me to activate my own, I couldn't use it."

"Heh...seems like you had me beat either way."

"Don't take it too hard. It's not that you're a bad duelist. Just practice being less predictable."

"I'll work on that. Good luck in the rest of your duels."

"Thanks. See ya." Emma bid him farewell and located her friend waiting for her at the bottom tier of the spectator stands.

"Good job. I'm surprised you got out Ouroboros. You usually don't go for the flashy finish."

"Eh...I felt like it this time."

"I'm not complaining. You looked awesome out there!"

"Was there ever any doubt?" Emma quirked an eyebrow at Sara.

"Well, when he took out Castel..."

"Nothing I could do. He would just Tensen over my Forbidden Lance."

"Fair enough."

Both girls searched around, scoping the competition. Together they spectated duels involving different people.

"Yep, I knew it. Isao's still a strong bastard."

"Hey, isn't Sara's duel starting soon?" Tatsuya asked.

"Where was it again? B-03?" Ayu chimed in, trying to recall the conversation.

"That's right. We still have time to get there," Yuzu said, directing the group in the right direction. The group found a good spot from where to watch the duel. The good seats had all been taken, the people whispering to each other in excitement at witnessing one of Starfall Academy's Battle Princess' duels.

"Wow, she really is famous, huh," Yuya stated, hearing the buzz around him.

"Uh huh. A lot of people here are fans of the Ace and Sara herself is a good duelist so it's expected she's garnered a fanbase of her own," Yuzu explained. Her eyes combed the crowd in an attempt to catch sight of the black haired girl. She gave up after a couple of sweeps and decided to just wait.

"LDS, huh? That's her opponent?" Tatsuya pointed at the dark haired boy with beady eyes waiting on his side of the arena. He was dressed in a Maiami Second Middle School uniform consisting of red slacks and a pressed cream blazer accented with gold.

"There she is!"

Sara walked onto the arena with a determined smile on her face. The female announcer turned on her microphone once both duelists got into position.

"We will now begin the duel between LDS' Yamada Takao and Starfall Academy's Battle Princess, Sara Taylor!" Sara grimaced when she heard her hated nickname before focusing on her opponent. Takao was a deceiving duelist; he never looked confident in himself and as a result, many of his opponents underestimated him. Sara was determined to not make the same mistake.

"I hope we have a good duel. It's an honor to duel the Ace's little sister."

"I hope we have a good duel also."

"Then, duelists, we will begin the duel. Action Field on! Frontier Fang Castle!" The projector covered the stage in light as it generated the Solid Vision for the duel. Both Duelists found themselves on opposite ends of a bridge held in place by sturdy rock pillars. To their right, a tiered castle stood grandly on its own island. The rest of the area was covered in a lush green forest.

" _Duelists locked in battle! Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters! They storm through this field! Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling! Action Duel!"_

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading. Have a good one.


	3. Assessing Strength

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V.

* * *

 _"Duelists locked in battle! Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters! They storm through this field! Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling! Action Duel!"_

"I normal summon Tin Goldfish. When this card is Normal Summoned, I can Special Summon one Level 4 monster in my hand. Come to me, Green Gadget! My new monster's ability activates, allowing me to search one Red Gadget from my Deck to my hand. Next I overlay both of my monsters to XYZ Summon Gear Gigant X! By detaching one XYZ Material from it, I can add one Level 4 or lower Machine-Type monster from my Deck or Graveyard to my hand. I search out Machina Gearframe. I set one turn and end my turn." Takao ran down the stairs towards a lower level in search for an Action Card.

"I draw! I activate Mystical Space Typhoon, destroying your facedown!" The card destroyed was revealed to be Bottomless Trap Hole. Sara began to search for her own Action Card, running around to the far side of the bridge near one of the towers. She squinted her eyes as a glint from the sunlight caught her attention. There it was! Embedded in the wall of the tower high above her was an Action Card. "I summon Tour Guide from the Underworld! She Special Summons Djinn Releaser of Rituals from my Deck to the field but I can't use it as Synchro Material and its effects are negated. Not that it matters anyway."

"What do you mean by that?" Takao asked curiously. She had two Level 3 monsters on her field. Was she going to XYZ summon?

"I activate the Ritual Spell Card Hymn of Blessing from my hand! I tribute monsters from my hand or field whose levels are equal to or greater than six and thanks to Tour Guide, I easily fulfill that condition." Sara threw her hands up high as she performed her summon chant. "Gathered light turns into a pure form! Purify with your glistening wings! Take flight, Saffira, Queen of Dragons!" Sara mounted her monster who gracefully lifted her duelist to the height of the Action Card, allowing her to add it to her hand. "Now, Saffira! Destroy Gear Gigant X with Light Slash!"

"I activate my Action Card! Evasion! It negates your monster's attack," Takao cried out as he scrambled as fast as he could to the bottom floors. Sara followed closely behind on her monster, seeking out Action Card locations for later. "I set one card and end my turn. Saffira's effect activates during the End Phase. If Saffira was Ritual Summoned this turn, or if a LIGHT monster was sent from the hand or deck to the Graveyard this turn while this card was face-up on the field, I can activate one of three effects. The effect I choose is to draw two cards and discard one. The card I discard is Scarm, Malebranche of the Burning Abyss, which activates his effect, allowing me to search out another Tour Guide from the Underworld from my Deck to my hand."

Takao drew his card as he tried to think of a way out of his situation.

"She's got him in a tight spot," Gongenzaka observed. The duel had just started and there hadn't been much to observe but he was secretly impressed Sara decided to enter the tournament with a Ritual Deck. Most players shied away from that particular type of monster.

"Yeah, her Dragon is stronger than that Gear Gigant X, for sure. Maybe Takao can bring out a stronger monster, though," Yuzu joined in, still reveling in her victory over Masumi.

"That won't be easy, Yuzu," Shuzo said. "One of the monsters she used for her Ritual Summon was Djinn Releaser of Rituals. While a Ritual Monster that used that card for a tribute is face-up on the field, the opponent cannot Special Summon at all."

"Waahhh! So she's sealed off his Special Summoning!" Yuya summarized.

"Right. Takao is in a bind. Gadget Decks are reliable but they depend on Special Summoning strong monsters. Without access to those monsters, his Deck is little more than dragon food."

"I'll admit, I didn't expect to face a deck like this at all this tournament."

"...I wish I could say the same of you."

"Well, don't think it'll be easy! You might have the upper hand now but I'll find a way to turn it around. I activate Gear Gigant X's effect, allowing me to search another Machina Gearframe. I summon Machina Gearframe and search for Machina Fortress. Next, I equip Machina Gearframe to my Gear Gigant X. Now I attack Saffira with Gear Gigant X! Any response?"

 _Is he trying to bait my facedown?_ Sara wondered as she watched the machine roam closer for its attack. "No, go ahead."

"During the Damage Step, I activate the Action Card Extreme Sword! My monster gains 1000 ATK." Sara's Life Points dipped to 3200 following the explosion from the collision. "Now your monster is gone! Ha!" The smoke cleared away to reveal a smirking Sara still riding on top of Saffira. "What? How?!"

"I activated the effect of the Hymn of Blessing in my Graveyard. If a Ritual Monster I control would be destroyed by battle or by card effect, I can banish this card in my Graveyard instead so my Saffira is still kicking!"

"Grrrr! I end my turn."

"I expected as much. Your hand is full of monsters, isn't it?" Sara guessed.

"Wow, I thought Saffira was a goner!" Tatsuya expressed as he was enraptured by the glittering wings of Saffira.

"Look at her. Even though she took damage, she's still as calm as ever."

"Draw. Remember that Tour Guide I searched last turn? I summon her now! This time I Special Summon Djinn Demolisher of Rituals from my Deck. Overlay! XYZ Summon! Dante, Traveler of the Burning Abyss!"

"What? Dante? How did you get your hands on one?!"

"It was a prize at one of the tournaments I won recently. It seems you're familiar with him?"

"I've never even seen one before in real life!" Takao confessed, momentarily distracted from his search for Action Cards.

"Then consider this a rare treat. I activate Dante's effect! I detach one XYZ Material to mill three cards from my deck and this card gains 500 ATK for each card. Now its 2500 ATK is more than enough to take on your monster. Go, Dante! Attack Gear Gigant X!"

"Machina Gearframe's effect allows me to destroy it in place of Gear Gigant X," Takao said as he sent his Gearframe to the Graveyard.

"But you still take the damage!" Although it was only a measly 200 damage dealt, it felt satisfying for Sara to see her opponent realize the situation he was in. Her next attack would destroy his only monster on the field now that the protection of his Gearframe was gone. "Saffira! Light Slash!" Saffira swooped forward and delivered a devastating slash across the body of the machine, splintering it into pieces. "How'd you like that?"

"Hmm...Not bad."

"Not bad, huh? It's about to get better. At the end of the Battle Phase, Dante switches to Defense Position. During the End Phase, Saffira's effect activates, thanks to the Denko Sekka that was milled by Dante's effect. I choose the first effect again and I draw two cards and discard one. The card I discard is Hymn of Blessing.

"She has excellent control over this game," Yuzu explained. "Now she has another Hymn of Blessing in her Graveyard, meaning she can protect her Ritual Monster from destruction one time."

"That's right. She was also able to activate Saffira's effect thanks to her XYZ Monster which is a big boost, allowing her to cycle cards into her hand. It'll take a lot for her opponent to come back from this, although it isn't impossible," Gongenzaka stated. The younger children listened closely at his assessment of the duel. Ayu turned back to stare at Sara with wide eyes.

"She's really strong, isn't she?"

"Yeah...I can't wait to duel her!" Yuya declared, pumping his fist into the air. He was feeling a secondhand adrenaline rush from Sara's duel, almost as if he were in the arena dueling against her himself.

"It's my turn! And would you look at that? I've got the cards I need to beat your lock."

"Show me then," Sara challenged, her grin widening.

"As you wish! I activate Book of Moon, flipping Saffira facedown! Now I have access to all my powerful cards once more! I summon Masked Chameleon and its effect revives the Machina Gearframe in my Graveyard with its effects negated. I tune Gearframe to my Level 4 tuner Masked Chameleon! Synchro Summon! Ascend from the discarded, Scrap Dragon!"

"A Synchro Monster?"

"Aha! But that's not all! I discard Machina Fortress and Gearframe to Special Summon that Machina Fortress! Next I discard Redox, Dragon Ruler of Boulders along with Swift Scarecrow to Special Summon Redox from my Graveyard! XYZ Summon! Fire your jets, Mecha Phantom Beast Dracossack!"

"...Now this is a duel! Come at me with everything you've got!" Sara grinned back as she faced down the two monstrous mechanical monsters. Their red eyes glowed dauntingly as their mouths twisted into a grim attempt at smiles.

"I detach one XYZ Material from Dracossack to Special Summon two Mecha Phantom Beast Tokens to my field in Defense Mode. Next I activate Scrap Dragon's effect. I select one of my Tokens to destroy your facedown Saffira!" Scrap Dragon brutally stabbed the token through its body as it charged its ability. It fired a beam directed at Sara's facedown card, searing straight through it. "Now my greatest obstacle is gone! Battle! Destroy Dante, Dracossack!"

"Dante's effect! If he's sent to the Graveyard, I can add one 'Burning Abyss' card in my Graveyard to my hand. I add Scarm to my hand!"

"Like it makes any difference. Attack her directly Scrap Dragon!" Sara braced herself as the attack knocked her back several feet. Her Life Points were at a mere 400.

"He uses Synchros? I thought LDS students chose only one type to focus on!" Yuya exclaimed. Things were looking bad for Sara. Now that her opponent had access to his big monsters once again, it was a different duel.

"Clearly Yamada Takao isn't your average LDS student," Shuzo noted.

"Ah! She's down to 400 Life Points! And she has no monsters on her field. How's she going to win this one?" Futoshi cried out in worry. He had been cheering for Sara alongside the others and considered her a good person for helping Yuya out. He didn't want to see her lose.

"She's not out of the duel just yet," Yoko told them. "Look at her face. She doesn't look worried at all!"  
 _  
_Sara stood up slowly and brushed the dirt off of her clothes. "Do you end?"

"Yeah. I end my turn!"

"Draw! You know...to be honest, you caught me off guard with that Synchro Summon."

"Thanks. I learned Synchro Summoning just for that reason! Combining Summoning methods can be quite effective."

"Yes...I agree. It's nice to see duelists expanding outside of their comfort zone. You are a worthy opponent, Takao."

"You're not so bad yourself."

"We'll see if you change your mind once I win."

"You sure sound confident. Care to back up that talk?"

"Sure! You were too busy trying to get over Saffira that you forgot I have other monsters in my deck."

"What do you mean?"

"Saffira isn't my only ace card."

"What? What other card could you be hiding? You're bluffing."

"Maybe I should just show you. Prepare to witness the power of LIGHT and DARK combined! I banish Tour Guide from the Underworld and Denko Sekka from my Graveyard to Special Summon the legendary Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Beginning!"

"That card! So the Ace really does make his mark, even when he's not present."

"This may be my brother's card but I'm the one dueling you! I activate Black Luster Soldier's second ability, allowing it to attack once again if it destroys a monster by battle this turn. Battle! Attack Scrap Dragon!"

"It's not over yet! Action Card: Battle Change! I can change your attack target to Dracossack and since you can't destroy Dracossack because of the token on my field, your attack is thwarted."

"You don't think I planned for that? Action Card: Spell Barrier! This turn, one monster I control is unaffected by other Spell Card effects! Go, Black Luster Soldier! I discard the LIGHT monster Honest from my hand! Black Luster Soldier gains Scrap Dragon's 2800 ATK until the end of this turn. Luster Blade Attack!"

"AHHHHHHHH! Nooo, my scrap dragon!"

"Now finish him off! Attack Dracossack!"

"No way!" Takao's Life Point counters dwindled down to 0.

"That's it! After a nerve-wracking duel, the winner of this duel is Sara Taylor from Starfall Academy!"

Takao stood up and nursed a bruise he received on his shoulder from being knocked back. "You had that Action Card in your hand the whole duel...why didn't you use it to stop my Book of Moon?"

"One sided duels are no fun," Sara answered lightly. She turned off her duel disk and waved to Emma in the crowd.

"Grrr! Are you looking down at me?"

"Hmm? No, that wasn't my intention. I just wanted to see what you had up your sleeve. Like I said, that Synchro Summon was surprising. Besides, this way we gave the crowd more of a show. Look how excited they are." Takao looked around the stadium, his growing embarrassment at his loss fading as he heard cheers for him within the crowd. Even though he had lost, his performance had managed to catch the attention of the crowd.

"Hmm...we certainly did, didn't we? Congratulations on your win."

"Thanks. I hope we get to duel again someday."

"Hmm...things looked pretty close there, Miss Battle Princess," Emma taunted, elongating the syllables in her nickname.

"Shut up, Emma. Everything turned out fine, didn't it?"

"Uh huh. You were only 400 Life Points away from losing!"

"Emma, for the love of -"

"Hey, Sara! Sara!" Outside the stadium, the pair of girls paused and waited for the others to catch up. Yuya and his group made their way over, singing their praises at Sara's dueling.

"You were incredible!"

"That dragon you summoned was really pretty~!"

"I was s-s-shivering throughout the whole duel!"

"Thanks for watching!"

"No problem! That was a duel I'm glad I didn't miss!"

Sara's duel had been the last one scheduled for the day. The group piled out of the entrance.

"We should probably get going. I'm getting hungry," Emma said.

"We were actually about to eat at a restaurant to celebrate our victories. Would you like to join us for dinner?" Yoko offered. The two girls glanced briefly at each other before shrugging.

"Sure. We'd love to come along." They walked together as a group, following Yoko and Shuzo as they lead the way.

"Seeing Yuzu use her opponent's monster for her Fusion Summon gave me shivers!"

"I'm the one who taught her so being able to do that much is a given!" Sora boasted, resting his arms behind his head.

"Hiiragi Yuzu!" A sharp voice called out.

"Masumi!"

"You better plan on winning after you defeated me!" Masumi walked up to Yuzu. "I wouldn't be able to stand losing to someone who doesn't even win the tournament! So take this..." She handed Yuzu a card.

"This is...Crystal Rose? Why are you giving this to me?"

"You'll need this card to shine again like you did in your duel today. See ya. I won't forgive you if you lose, got it?" Masumi said without looking back as she walked away.

"Thank you, Masumi!"

The restaurant had a calm, relaxed atmosphere. It wasn't a high end reserve-your-table restaurant but it also wasn't a busy fast-food chain. Shuzo chatted briefly with the restaurant owner, a friend of his since childhood. Yoko helped the younger members of You Show School decide on a meal. Having already chosen their meals, the older members discussed amongst each other.

"So you got to see Isao in battle? How is he?" Yuya asked. He had never seen the dueling style of Ryozanpaku School before.

"I hear he's brutal when he fights. He doesn't seem like the type of guy you'd want to mess around with," Yuzu added.

"Brutal is an accurate description. He'll go to any cost to prevent you from getting Action Cards. As if that wasn't bad enough, he's actually a decent duelist, although a bit prideful. Sometimes he brings about his own downfall." Emma stared at the door to the kitchen, her stomach reminding her she craved food.

"Seems like my Steadfast Dueling would be a good way to beat him," Gongenzaka suggested.

"Probably," Sara agreed. She quickly read a text message on her duel disk from her fellow students congratulating her on her victory. "He's gotten his hands on a Fusion monster and it appears that's his new ace. If you can find a way to prevent him from summoning it or some way to weaken it, that's where I'd start. His deck isn't one that can easily recover from the costs the Fusion Summon demands of him."

The food arrived and they partook in their meals. Emma sang with joy inside her head while Sara kept thinking back to her duel. _I shouldn't play around like that anymore. From here on out, the tournament is only going to get harder._ Sara mentally berated herself for letting her opponent make his plays when she could have prevented them.

"I love your hair, Sara; it looks silky smooth. What conditioner do you use?"

"Thank you, Miss Sakaki. I'm personally a fan of the brand ShinySilk. They make a bunch of really good shampoos and conditioners."

"ShinySilk? I'll have to try that out!" Yuzu joined in, eager to jump in on some girl talk. Around the table, the boys all rolled their eyes.

"Girls," they all muttered underneath their breath.

"I can't wait for my duel tomorrow," Yuya eventually slipped into the conversation, unable to get his mind off of his opponent. He remembered his first duel against Sawatari where he had managed to win even against his opponent's cheating ways.

"Who is your opponent again?" Sara asked as she left her conversation with Emma, Yoko, and Yuzu.

"Sawatari Shingo. He's a duelist from LDS."

"Hmmm...Sawatari Shingo...I've never heard that name before."

"I already dueled him before and I won but I wonder what he's going to do this time."

"I'm sure you'll do fine. I'll be cheering for you, Yuya."

"Me too. I want to see what the original Pendulum user can accomplish," Emma commented, finishing up her plate.

"Thanks for the meal," Sara and Emma said. The food had been delicious and the company was decent; overall the night had been nice. They had been ready to pay for their portion of the food but Shuzo vehemently denied them and insisted they let him treat them to the dinner.

"It was our pleasure. Please don't be strangers. You're welcome to You Show School anytime," Shuzo told them with an amicable smile.

"Sure, we'll drop in," Emma smiled back, the exhaustion beginning to seep into her voice.

"Good night!" They said their farewells under the night sky and went their ways.

Sara dressed in a white dress shirt tucked into tight black jeans. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and left the hotel room with Emma. She made sure to keep quiet and avoid attracting the irritation from a grumpy, morning Emma until she got her cup of coffee.

"Why does his dumb match have to start so early in the morning?"

"...Uh...It's at noon."

"It's too damn early!"

"You're impossible. Either we go early enough to get a good view or we arrive too late and we miss some of the duel." With Emma grumbling along the way, although slowly she became more awake with each sip of her coffee, the two girls made it to the stadium where Yuya had said Gongenzaka would be having his duel against Ankokuji Gen. "Besides, Noboru had the courtesy to watch my match. The least I can do is attend his. Are you seriously not interested in seeing how he duels?"

"I never said that...just shut up and lead the way." Sara smirked when Emma relented and quietly trailed behind her. They faded into the crowd, slowly making their way to the seating area. As duelists of the competition, they didn't have to purchase a ticket to reserve themselves a seat. They sat down halfway down the Stadium, a location that would grant them a good view of the duel as well as the holographic screens the championship would project. Sara nibbled on an oatmeal raisin cookie, patiently waiting for the match to begin. Beside her, Emma scrolled through the internet on her Duel Disk, browsing through lists of jewelry.

"My dear audience!" An excited voice boomed across the large Stadium as a large holographic rendering of Nico Smiley flickered onto the center of the field. "Thank you for coming to see the even more exciting second day of the tournament!" He held up two fingers, the gold bands on them glinting in the light. "Now let's introduce our Duelists for our first match of the day! This duelist qualified for the Junior Youth Championship with a six-game win streak! While he doesn't belong to any school, he's someone to keep an eye on! Ankokuji Gen!"

"Look, it's that bully from yesterday," Sara mumbled around a cheek full of cookie.

"He called us weak, didn't he? That Gongenzaka guy better grind him to dust."

"His opponent is the successor to the Steadfast Dueling style of the Gongenzaka Dojo, Gongenzaka Noboru!" Nico Smiley shouted enthusiastically.

"Nice sash you got there!" Gen called out with a sneer. "Did you get that from your father?"

"The master of our dojo gives us a new sash before a pivotal match!" Noboru answered him. "It's a tradition of our dojo."

"Well, I've taken advantage of that so-called tradition," Gen retorted. He ignored Noboru's demand to explain.

"If both duelists are ready, then let's select our Field! This match's field is...this! Field Magic: Solitary Island in a Faraway Sea, activate!"

"That's a mouthful," Emma mused.

"A forest, huh? How fitting. I'm sure your dear friend is inside of a forest now, too," Gen said ominously.

"What? What are you talking about, Gen?"

"Sakaki Yuya...he's not watching your duel right now. Ask your friends; they'll tell you the same! A 'disciple' of your dojo dropped your sash in the street, only to have it stolen by some punk friend of mine. Little does Yuya know that he's running straight into an ambush!" Gen explained, relishing in Noboru's angry face.

"You bastard! How dare you do something so underhanded, you coward?!" Noboru raged.

"What happened to your unshakable spirirt? Don't tell me it was so easy to unroot you, Noboru. You're already shaking with rage. That's all your so-called Steadfast spirit is worth," Gen took two steps forward and pointed at himself with his thumb. "Using any method to win, that's what the truly strong do! That's why I left the Gongenzaka Dojo."

"Ah, a grudge match, huh. These are always fun to watch," Sara said.

"Noboru looks like he's about to blow a gasket. He better get himself under control," Emma noticed. "You think what Gen said is true? About luring Sakaki Yuya?"

"Probably. Noboru wouldn't be getting angry if he knew Yuya was in the crowd watching him. I hope Yuya's okay..."

"Awww, that's cute. You're worried about him," Emma teased.

"If you want to save him, then you'd better hurry up and defeat me! Or will you spout garbage about how your friend is more important than this match? If you surrender now, you can go try and save him!" Gen sneered cruelly, unaffected by Noboru's glare.

In the stands, Yuzu answered a call. "Yuya? Where are you?"

"Yuzu! Tell Gongenzaka not to worry. Let him know that I'll get his sash back!"

"On the honor of my dojo, I cannt surrender without a fight!"

"Then so be it. Struggle all you want!"

"Duelists locked in battle! Kicking the earth and dancing in the air alongside their monsters! They storm through this field! Behold! This is the newest and greatest evolution of dueling! **Action Duel!** "

"I'll be going first! I summon Barbarian #3 from my hand!" A blue, horned ogre five feet tall brandished its spiked club upon its arrival on the field. "When he's successfully summoned, I can Special Summon Barbarian #4 from my hand!" This time, a fatter and more muscular brown skinned ogre wearing a blue tarp and fur arm warmers came out, waving its heavier club. "I set one card and end my turn. IF you don't hurry, your friend will be beaten to a pulp!"

"I was planning on defeating you with one attack! Draw! When there are two or more monsters on my opponent's field, I can Special Summon this card from my hand! Superheavy Samurau Big Wara-G! This card can be used as two tributes for a Tribute Summon! I release Big Wara-G to Tribute Summon Superheavy Samurai Big Ben-k in Defense Position!"

"And it's here! Superheavy Samurai Big Ben-K can be summoned in face-up Defense Position!" Nico Smiley clarified for some of the audience members who wondered if Gongenzaka Noboru had performed an illegal move.

"And Big Ben-K can attack in Defense Position using its 3500 DEF!" Tatsuya cheered in excitement. Neither of Gen's monsters could hope to contend with such a monster, having 1000 and 1200 ATK.

"Still, it doesn't look like he'll be ending it in one attack, though," Sora commented, referring to Noboru's statement.

"When there are no Spell or Trap Cards in my Graveyard, I can send one 'Superheavy Samurai' monster from my hand to the Graveyard to Special Summon this card! The Level 2 Tuner Monster, Superheavy Samurau Horaga-E!"

"A tuner? I thought you said You Show School didn't have any Synchro users."

"Sorry, Emma. He must have picked it up recently," Sara apologized.

"I activate my Trap Card! Barbarian's Curse! While I control a 'Barbarian' monster and you control two or more monsters: I can take control of one of those monsters. I'll be taking Horaga-E!"

"So he stopped his Synchro Summon. Why didn't he take Big Ben-K?" Emma asked.

"I already researched that you won your way here using Synchro Summoning!" Gen announced, pointing his finger at Noboru. "Matches aren't only decided within the Field! Such as what's going on outside this field today. If you don't hurry up, who can say what will happen to Yuya?"

"He's really getting under his skin," Emma observed, watching the furrow in Noboru's brows deepen. "I bet he's really frustrated right now, having his tuner monster ripped away from him.

Off in the stands, the LDS trio that had fought against You Show School earlier that year watched the duel intently. "Your so-called student is doing terribly," Masumi taunted Todo Yaiba the Synchro user.

"I didn't expect his monster to get taken away from him," Hokuto added on with a smug smile.

"That guy! Is he trying to make me look bad?" Yaiba shouted out in frustration, pulling at his hair.

"Battle! I attack Barbarian #3 with Big Ben-K!"

"Barbarian #4's ability! I can negate one of your attacks directed at a 'Barbarian' monster this turn!"

"Damnit!" Noboru growled. He punched the ground hard as his brows furrowed even deeper in anger. "I don't have time for this!"

"What's wrong with you? Can't handle the truth? You were betrayed by your own monster and you don't know what's happening to your friend!" Gen laughed loudly from his position. Sinister amusement gleamed in his eyes. "I bet he thinks you've abandoned him. He must have thought you would go and save him but look at you wasting your time here dueling me instead."

"This guy is despicable," Emma said angrily. "He doesn't belong here in this tournament."

"Gongenzaka!" Yuzu called out to him from the stands, managing to attract his attention. "Believe in Yuya! He told me to tell you to not worry about him! He said he'll get your sash back and bring it to you!"

"Noboru! Now is the time to prove your Steadfast Dueling to the world!" His father jumped in, a smug grin hidden underneath his moustache.

"Ha ha! So they got into contact with him? He's just bluffing; there's no way he'll defeat the trap I set for him."

"Yuya is no longer a weakling! I will trust in his strength! Your words mean nothing to me now, Gen. I end my turn!"

"Listen to yourself! Trust in others? They'll only betray you...the same way your monster has done to you. Draw! I tribute my three monsters to summon Barbarian Mad Shaman!" The dancing shaman burst on the field, unable to stay still. Its deranged cackles echoed throughout the stadium.

"A Level 10 Monster that requires three tributes? Those are rare," Emma said.

"Yeah...only very powerful cards have that stipulation. I wonder what his Shaman can do, considering it only has 2000 ATK."

"I activate my Mad Shaman's ability! Once per turn, I can take control of one of your monsters!"

"So that's why he didn't steal Ben-K with his Trap Card."

"Hmmm...still, that's a rather lackluster effect for a three tribute monster."

"It's over! Realize that as your own monster brings about your defeat!" Gen flashed a toothy sneer at his opponent as he ordered his attack. The bulky monster slammed its fist onto the ground, sending a shockwave directed at Noboru. Despite this, Noboru stood still, sticking true to his Steadfast Dueling, as he dug his feet in as hard as he could to withstand the oncoming attack. He braced himself when the attack struck, pushing him back out of the forest and towards the edge of a cliff, his feet leaving deep tracks in the ground. Looking worse for wear and with only 500 Life Points left, the crowd gasped as Noboru caught his breath.

"This next attack is game over!" Gen strode confidently over with a smirk. "Don't even bother defending. Take my monster's attack and plunge into the sea behind you! Go and attack him, Barbarian Mad Shaman!" His monster released another series of cackles as it dashed towards Noboru.

"At this moment, I banish Superheavy Samurai Glo-V in my Graveyard. I draw one card and if that card is a "Superheavy Samurai" monster, I turn your monster's ATK to 0."

"So it all comes down to this draw...you can do it, Noboru!" Emma cheered. Sara nodded, wondering whether he would be able to pull off the draw. Across the stadium, the You Show School entrants also watched with bated breath.

"Come to me!" Noboru drew powerfully. "I got it!" He parried Barbarian Mad Shaman's attack with his hand, breaking one of the horns on the skulls it wore on its fists. The broken horn tore Noboru's sash, though he took little notice as it fell to the ground. "You see that, Gen? No matter what happens, my spirit will not be shaken. I believe in Yuya and I believe in my cards!"

"Would you look at that?! With his back to the cliff, he's dodged the final attack by a hair," Nico Smiley screamed into his mic.

"You just got lucky. Besides, you can't attack my Mad Shaman as long as I control Big Ben-K...and should you summon a stronger monster than Big Ben-K, he can just swap him out."

"I wouldn't be so sure the duel is over," Noboru warned. He looked down at his ripped sash, shaking his head and then focusing on his duel disk. "I haven't given up yet. What I need now is to believe...I draw! I summon the Level 2 Tuner Monster, Superheavy Samurai Tama-C, from my hand!"

"Hmmph! Just a weak Tuner. You can't beat me with that."

"Tama-C can perform a Synchro Summon using a Machine-Type monster on your field!"

"What did you just say?" Gen sputtered.

"I tune Big Ben-K with my level 2 Tama-C! Raging deity, in unison with the roar of the souls of a thousand blades, come forth in a spiraling sandstorm! Synchro Summon! Come before us! Level 10! Superheavy Koujin Susanowo!" The gigantic metal monster crossed its feet and sat pridefully beside its duelist. "Next, I equip Superheavy Samurau Soulbuster Gauntlet to Susanowo from my hand. Its DEF is increased b 400. Go! Attack Barbarian Mad Shaman!"

"Right now his monster's ATK is reduced to 0 thanks to Glo-V!" Tatsuya yeled.

"And Susanowo has 4200 DEF to attack with!" Ayu cheered.

"He'll end it with one attack..." Sora said with wide eyes. "He said he would at the beginning of this duel that he'd end it with one attack, didn't he?"

"Susanowo! Kusanagi Sword Slash!" Susanowo swung its mighty blade sideways and sheared through the frame of the Mad Shaman. Gen was forcefully thrown back by the aftershock of the attack as his Life Point counter ticked down to 0.

"The first victory of the day goes to Gongenzaka Noboru!" The announcer yelled as the stands exploded in roars of approval and cheer.

"Oh no, I missed it!" Yuya ran into the stands, holding onto the white sash tightly. "Gongenzaka! I brought your sash back!"

"Oh boy," Emma chuckled, shaking her head in mirth. "Not even fashionably late!"

"At least Noboru won his game."

"And with one attack too! Just like he said he would. You were right, Sara. These guys have interesting duelists."

"You Show School seems to specialize in making their duels as entertaining as possible. I was on the edge of my seat."

"Next up, we have our second match of the day!" Nico Smiley said to quiet the crowd down. "You Show Duel School's Sakaki Yuya vs Leo Duel School's Sawatari Shingo!"

"Awesome! Let's see what your dueling is like now, Yuya."

"You got this, Yuya!"

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading. Things will start veering from canon soon.


End file.
